Dallas Mavs Interviews Before Game 2 vs. Timberwolves: PJ Washington, Daniel Gafford, Jason Kidd

Dallas Mavs Interviews Before Game 2 vs. Timberwolves: PJ Washington, Daniel Gafford, Jason Kidd

you guys have had trouble this postseason doing that but coming in here last night into a hostile environment just what did it mean for you guys uh I think it was a big roow win for us obviously playing here is tough so um they’re a great team defensively and uh we feel like uh we just needed a win obviously and uh it felt good you closed the series against OKC there and now you came here and the Wolves fans were czy does that lift you up in some way like the team gets more like hyped to do stuff because there BR play against it yeah I mean we love playing on the road uh obviously the crowds are always into it they’re always against us so it’s fun uh coming in here and obviously getting wins so um we felt good last night and uh hopefully we can do the same game too you got you got one last night obviously what is it going to take win tomorrow night and take control of this series uh I think just taking care of the ball um taking easy shots making our open shots obviously and uh just being ourselves um playing good defense not letting those guys get going and just trying to stick together for 48 minutes I know that’s what you wanted them to do how surprised are you that they shot 49 three point that’s a lot uh that is a lot I mean I mean I’m not really surprised at all I feel like we did a great job protecting the paint but uh I think we do got to do a better job of taking some of those thre away how do you feel about them protecting like the perimeter because you guys made less shots than you used to uh for three point I feel like we just missed a couple of open shots um I feel like we’ll make them going going down the stretch obviously so so I’m not really concerned about that for us do you feel like you were able to wear them down in that first half so much that they kind of looked gassed in the second and that helped um to get the win here yeah I feel like our pressure um on both ends of the fort was good I feel like we got out on transition and made easy plays and uh that uh obviously helped us in the second half as well they had over 60 in the first half what do you think Chang and allowed you guys to to lock in in that second half and hope them to just over 4 uh we were just better in in every aspect uh we were more aggressive just putting the pressure on them uh just forcing them to take contested shots and uh we didn’t get up give up as as much threes is there something you did not like about the game that you think you can do be better on game two I think the biggest thing is the three-pointers that they made um obviously they made 18 of them so um we can’t keep we can’t afford for them to keep doing that so just being able to contest each shot and uh just trying to make it tough for him 24 points in the first half score 15 his 33 and when those two guys get it going like they do how tough is it for opponents to beat you guys it’s very tough I mean those are two of the best players to play the game so uh their skill level just um is insane um I think they bring so much to the game that it’s hard for teams to guard them one-on-one so you pretty much have to send a double at them and then it opens the game up for everybody else as well what did you make of uh Anthony saying I got Kyrie before the series started what you I mean I didn’t really make anything of it I mean Kyrie’s a great player an a great player so I guess he was just um had a a lot of emotions after winning in Denver but uh I mean it’s just it’s just talk honestly might ever done that to you say I got PJ not that I remember Daniel said that they kind of told suggested what his role should be with did they do the same for you just any of the team or organization in general when you got to the m uh they just told me they wanted me to be myself I just come out and be aggressive and the biggest thing was just the defensive end just trying to bring a identity to this team and uh just make a standpoint on that you mentioned the struggles from the three-point you know line but you and Luca hit two big threes late to to Really one take the lead and then to kind of end things what keeps you confident that one will eventually drop and it continue taking those shots uh I feel like we instill that confidence in each other uh we’re always telling each other to take the next shot or always uh just being um there for each other and each in each uh shot each quarter every game so everybody’s happy for each other and everybody’s uh cheering the next guy on so it’s easy to uh take the next shot DJ how would you defy this team’s identity um I feel like we’re very physical on the defensive end and and defense wins US games um obviously we can score with the best of them but our defense is the reason we’re here and is that something you feel like has fully engaged now you can count on that every night definitely I mean I feel like to win in the playoffs you have to have a defense so um we rely on our defense we rely on our our big guys relying on myself and uh Derek a lot so I feel like uh we’re stepping up to the challenge each and every game this is your third uh playoff series for you guys nobody’s picked you guys to win any does it add any more motivation for you to go out there and win not really I mean we don’t really care about anybody’s opinion for us is just um what we can focus on and what we can get better at and I feel like everybody’s locked in each at every game and uh even in film sessions we’re trying to get uh better each and every day so um everybody’s locked in we’re not really worried about outside notes throughout this postseason run you guys have mixed up your coverages pretty frequently against Stars yesterday you guys you early doubled late doubled uh you know guarded straight up what has worked uh uh what did you see in game what did you like about how that executed in game one against Carl towns and Anthony Ed um like I said we just try to throw different things at different people obviously they’re great players so um just try to make them take tough shots I mean that’s the biggest thing for us and uh contest everything so we know they’re going to hit some shots we know they’re going to make some so for us we’re just trying to keep everything and and proportion and just trying to make them uh work hard on this game what have you seen from uh Derek Lively throughout uh this postseason run it seems like he’s continued to improve as he’s getting more postseason exposure yeah he’s getting better and better each and every game and uh we’re here for it I mean we’re loving every second of it um he’s being aggressive uh being a great uh rim protector rebounding the ball at a very high level so um he’s just been great and obviously he’s 20 years old so he’s a has a lot more in store yesterday Caron towns was talking about how Kevin Garnett gave him some advices and for the series I wonder if there’s any connection like this that you guys have with DK nitzki did he say something about that you know West Conference Finals or something I mean he’s always stressed us he by the defense um we’re obviously one of the better teams on the offensive end but defense wins championships and we have to be successful on that end to be anybody thank you guys considering it started with a flare screen for Carl towns he was the low Defender it was it was good because he stuck to just like the concept of how we wanted to just play these guys you know playing a cat and mouse game we got them to make the pass that he we wanted them to make and he just made a extra effort to get the pass over the top what does that say about you guys normally Lucas scor in the first quter KY last night what does that say about those those two guys how talented they are it’s hard to stop them at the end of the day you know especially once they get going um in all honestly you just have to just pray I would say you know I really can’t even put it in words you know I’m always amazed just seeing some of the stuff that goes on on a day-to-day basis when it comes to just like what they do throughout each game and it’s just you know make sure we get those guys the ball and then just at the end of day always just make sure you know when they put the ball in our hands they trust us to be able to make make plays and make decisions to uh Derek Lively’s continued to improve throughout this postseason run what has impressed you about his impact as you continue to you know Advance this far just his consistency you know he comes in with the same energy every day he works his tail off you know he comes in and shoots at night he does all the little things to be able to just have success in this league and you know I give it Miss props because it’s a young guy you know are like I would say it’s like mandatory for you to do that but at the end of day he really doesn’t even complain he just takes it it’s just like you know it’s another day to get better so I just you know I give him his FR SKU for young kids you know I like just where he’s going with his career I like how he holds yourself demeanor and any type of adversity that’s in his way find some type of way to get through it you ever tell anybody you going guard him before the series started you ever did that n no not at all never would consider doing that uh you know maybe maybe like my later years in the league not right now not right now this is my first time just like in this type of scenario in this type of situation atmosphere with the playoffs and stuff so I’m not going to jinx myself at all yeah cuz Kyrie had only had 19 points in the previous 12 13 the first quarter right it seems like you and the and Derek have been very intentional about playing off two Fe using fakes against some of those shot blockers like you face Cher Ry go how important is that and you go obviously guys you work on in The Practice Facility how important is that in the postseason it’s very important important because it helps us SL the game down for ourselves you know we don’t go at 110 mph when it comes to us getting the ball in the pocket you know because end of the day either we going to try to make a play on the basket we’re trying to make a play to get make a decision to try to get it to the guy in the corner make a read get it to that guy in the wing or just all honestly just making plays on the back end because you know those guards they’re putting trust in our hands what they’re putting the ball in our hands we just have to make the right decision thanks you know last night uh a only got two attempts in the restricted area how how much of that would do you think was what you guys were doing defensively and you know what do you think uh his response will be what what are you expecting from him tomorrow night yeah I think for us it’s a matter of uh showing his many bodies again making it tough uh he’s one of the best players in the world uh you’re not going to stop him um you can just make it tough on him and hope that he misses uh we expect him in game to to to attack early and often uh we we got to try to protect the paint uh they shot you know a lot of Threes uh they were hot early um I thought for us to stay together um in that second half um to to to to protect the paint again it’s it’s tough uh when you got Cad and and those guys who can put it on the floor and get to the rim um but again we believe that ant’s going to come um connley is going to you know come that they’re they’re going to be better better in game two so we have to expect that when you went back and looked at those threes how many of those are shots you’re willing to live with if you are protecting pain like you did last night yeah some of them we got we have to be better uh again when you shoot over 40 uh you know you’re not going to be able to contest all of them but I I thought um we again we have to be better we we uh we gave a couple uh that we we knew that we have to be better so U we got to protect the the three-point line uh again they they’re saying that look they had got good looks they believe that they can make some of those and then the game will be different so we have to be better at guarding the three-point line for sure is the common theme for the ones that that think you should be better at the three-pointers that you gave up is it more player or location uh just effort that’s all effort for us we have to be better uh our effort wasn’t up the par there early uh they got off to a really good start shooting in three um some of the threes we got to live with uh cuz they made great plays but uh we we got to be better at at contesting and taking them off the three-point line how good did you feel to win a game one first time I was it’s uh it’s new to everyone um but it’s uh again it’s uh this time of the year is about winning uh and so we found a way to win on the road and now we got to try to figure out how to win tomorrow night Jason what do you think of the job Derk Jones did last night uh I thought D Jones did great he’s done that for us all season uh he’s always guarded the the best offensive player Wing wise and uh he’s just trying to compete he’s just trying to make it tough uh I thought he did a really good job last night A lot’s been made [Music] about uh maybe but but I don’t listen so um I I I think uh maybe that was a little bit more made of what he said um it was not motivation was uh he’s a talented young man who who loves competition you can’t knock him for that so does play both sides of the ball at a very high level so we got to respect that thanks thank you sir

Dallas Mavericks’ PJ Washington, Daniel Gafford, and Jason Kidd spoke to reporters before their Game 2 matchup of their Western Conference Finals series against the Minnesota Timberwolves in their 2024 NBA playoff series. They hold a 1-0 series lead.

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